. >> jeff: house speaker john boehner held a conference call with his members telling them compromise was needed. obama senior advisor david axelrod called boehner's congress to members encouraging. >> i think there are a lot of ways to skin this cat so long as everybody comes with a positive, constructive attitude toward the task. >> jeff: if the automatic spending cuts happen, exactly 50% of the board without fall on the pentagon. national security correspondent david martin lays out what that would mean. >> reporter: the dreaded sequestration would double the $500 billion in cuts the pentagon is already planning to make over the next decade. defense secretary panetta has not minced words about what that would mean. >> if a sequestration is allowed to go into effect it will be a disaster for national defense. >> reporter: according to panetta the new american strategy of pivoting away from the wars in iraq and afghanistan toward the pas civic and an emerging chinese superpower would come undone. >> all of thatan go to hell if this congress doesn't face up and deal with the issue of